Why I'm building a Plausible alternative (with respect)
The Shoutout
Huge respect to Uku and Marko at Plausible. They launched on Indie Hackers back in January 2019, built in public, and proved that a bootstrapped, privacy-first analytics tool could actually win against Google. That's the playbook. That's the inspiration.
The Fight Against Google (and why I'm in)
Plausible's argument is simple: Google Analytics turned the web into a surveillance machine. 45KB of scripts. 290+ metrics nobody understands. Cookie consent banners everywhere. GDPR nightmares.
They said "friends don't let friends use Google Analytics." I agree.
So when I built Prysm, I kept the same principles: no cookies, no consent banners, EU-hosted, GDPR-friendly, <5KB tracking script.
The only Google I kept? The login button. Because let's be honest, people actually like that one.
Why I built this
I've launched several tools and SaaS projects over the years. Every time, the same problem: I had no idea what my users were actually doing. I'd stare at Google Analytics, get lost in 50 reports, and close the tab more confused than when I opened it.
I tried Plausible. Better. Cleaner. But I'd still see "traffic up 40%" and think... okay, cool. But why? What do I do now?
So I built the analytics tool I wish I had.
Where I went a different direction
1. UI/UX that makes you actually want to open your analytics
- A 3D globe showing visitors arriving in real-time (yes it's a bit extra, but watching your first user land from Brazil hits different)
- A timeline that feels like scrolling through your project's story, not scanning rows in a spreadsheet
- Glassmorphism design because it's 2025, not 2008
2. Answers, not just numbers
- PrysmAI tells you "Traffic spiked 215% from Twitter yesterday. Your thread on [topic] drove most of it. Consider a follow-up."
- Insights that explain the WHY, not just the WHAT
- Ask questions in plain English: "Why did bounce rate increase last week?"
- All anonymized, all privacy-friendly
Where I'm at
- Product is live
- Tracked 1,000+ events already (with less than 5 users, including myself refreshing the dashboard way too often)
- Globe, Timeline, Summary views working
- PrysmAI in beta
Pricing: $9.99/mo for unlimited projects. Because I know what it's like to have 4 side projects and not want to pay per-site.
The honest truth
Plausible has 5+ years of battle-testing and 12,000+ paying customers. I'm just getting started.
But if you've ever stared at your analytics dashboard thinking "okay cool, but what does this mean?"... that's the problem I'm trying to solve.
Looking for early users who want to help shape this. Happy to answer any questions.
